Sharks ready for knock-out rugby

Friday night’s do-or-die clash at Ellis Park promises to be a massive South African derby as the loser will bow out of the Currie Cup. Both teams have been in good form and it’s hard to pick a favourite wherever your allegiances lie.

Both teams were bolstered by the return of their superfluous Springboks this week, while the Sharks welcomed a couple of players back from injury. Keegan Daniel’s vast experience and leadership is a huge boost for the Durban outfit that is brimming with exciting youngsters that are slightly wet behind the ears.

“Keegan has tons of experience as a captain and as a player and the youngsters gain confidence having those older heads around. We’re really happy to have all the guys back,” Sharks coach Rob du Preez said on Wednesday.

Lwazi Mvovo will have the same effect on the Sharks backline. Without his and Michael Claassens presence, the Sharks backline averages just 21-years-old.

Lourens Adriaanse will bring a massive amount of stability to the Sharks scrum, while Stephan Lewies will provide cover off the bench as he returns from injury alongside Daniel.

Knowing that experience can only be earned, the skipper said that the Currie Cup was always meant to be a building block for a new generation of Sharks. They have done exceptionally well this year considering the lack of experience in the side.

Despite losses to the Cheetahs and Western Province, the Sharks went unbeaten in the competition. With a young flyhalf and fullback responsible for game management, Daniel seemed happy with how the season has progressed.  

“You always want to see growth. We have formed a new team under Rob with a style he wants to implement. We said we were going to take the 10 or 12 weeks that this competition runs for and try develop a new style in how we want to play with a new culture and values. We knew it was going to be a new learning curve and we had a bit of an easy start to the competition and it just got tougher and tougher,” Daniel said.

“Having said that, the way the guys played against the Kings in those rainy conditions was a clinical performance. If you look at the way Inny (Radebe) and Curwin (Bosch) managed the game was really good. To see that coming out in a game that could have got loose, we stuck to the plan which was good to see.”

The Sharks skipper conceded that Friday’s clash will require plenty of composure and the pressure will be immense on the younger players. But Daniel was confident that his teammates have the talent to win the game and brushed aside the difficulty of playing at Ellis Park.

“We see this as a quarterfinal for us and it will be the same for them. The Lions had a really good year of rugby and they have carried some of that form over from Super Rugby into the Currie Cup. They had that little hiccup against the Griquas but every team has one in the competition,” Daniel said.

“I think if each guy plays to his potential on the weekend, there is no reason why we can’t end the game victorious. We’ve taken away that stigma of ‘we’re going to the Lions and it’s tough there’; rugby is tough wherever you play regardless of where you go.

“That’s the nature of this competition, it’s ruthless. With the shortened competition, there are no second chances and we know this is the one opportunity we have and we’re going to have to play really good rugby for 80 minutes to win this game.

The Sharks coach echoed those sentiments, while maintaining that the Sharks would continue to play their expansive style of rugby when the chances present themselves.

“We are going to have a pragmatic approach to the game; we have to because it is a final. The team that makes the least mistakes will have a better chance to win the game. That’s how we will approach it,” Du Preez said.

The Lions host the Sharks at Ellis Park on Friday – kick-off is at 17h00.

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